Because you see...Rory may be Daddy's Little Girl and Dave already has issues thinking about her dating...I'm even more concerned about Trace. He's got so much going on...my only son AND my baby. I mean come on. So I've put together my own little list of requirements, inspired by Isenman's article, today.

In order to become the future Mrs. Trace Undercoffer, a woman must...

1. Know how to cook. My son loves to eat. She should be especially well versed in chicken nuggets, hot dogs, carrots and ranch dressing. She should also have an affinity for McDonald's Apple Dippers and Capri Sun juice boxes.

2. Be prepared to clean up the same messes over and over. Boys and their toys, am I right?

3. Be satisfied with Trace needing to change his clothes 2-3 times a day. I'm anticipating his desire to get as dirty as possible won't be something he grows out of...since Dave still comes home filthy daily.

4. Have a curious taste in movies. Particularly ones starring famous puppets with lots of song and dance numbers.

5. Enjoy dancing. Mainly bobbing up and down in the same spot with complete disregard for timing or rhythm in the music. A large, goofy grin is also required.

6. Not mind my precious son stealing food off your plate. At every meal. Without fail. Swiper no swiping.

7. Like to share her bed...not just with my son, but with Baby (a green fluffy blanket) and 12 assorted stuffed animals. Considering he totes these buddies everywhere, I predict someday he'll be in a "woman or my stuffies" moment. Sigh.

8. Have no problem with bare feet. And men not wearing pants. Or shirts. Because Mr. T is a streaker already.

9. Enjoy a good mid-day nap. Because let's face it, Trace gets a little punchy when he doesn't get a solid 2 hours. She should also like bed time stories, sleeping with a night light and lullabies.

10. Be head over heels in love with my son. Other mamas may think their sons are the best, but at the end ot the day...no one cuddles like Trace. No one else has that soft downy blonde hair, big green grey eyes, a crinkly nose smile and a laugh like a little bear. No one else loves his puppy as much as Trace. No one else is as one in a million as my sweet son. So get to work girls. This one's hard to catch.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

It's been a while since I've done a day in the life post. Things sure have changed around here since I last did this. Trace was still a baby baby and now, he's fully toddler! He even wants to use the potty. Monkey see, monkey do. Rory is 99% potty trained. She only wears diapers for naps and nighttime. Most of the time she wakes up dry from her nap and she's been doing a LOT better overnight too. Thank the Lord! :)

Here's our morning...Tuesday, March 27, 2012.

7:00: My alarm goes off. I'm up, begrudgingly. I stayed up until well after 1 am finishing Mockingjay. My Katniss problem needs an intervention. No sound on either monitor yet, though. I get to watch the news for a little bit! After 20 minutes with the Today show, I decide to haul my butt out of bed.

7:30: Here come the troops! Cries of Dada! Dada! can be heard through out the house. Trace is up. He's 100% Daddy's boy. He wants Daddy the minute he gets up and is not good at hiding his disappointment when it's mommy he gets. :) Rory's up too. First round of diaper changes and potty trips begin.

8:15: Breakfast is over. Change clothes, brush hair and teeth, wash faces. First fight of the day! Woo! Trace stood on the stool Rory wanted. Obviously that means they need to kick each other over it. I just answer the phone and let them duke it out. Whatever.

8:30: Magic hour! Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse...and my kids are quiet. Rory's playing shapes on the ipad, Trace is driving cars and trucks around on the floor. I get 30 full minutes to waste on Facebook and Pinterest. Thanks, Mickey. See yah real soon.

9:00: I decide today will be chores day. I pick up toys, which Trace immediately tosses back out of toy boxes. I fold laundry, which Trace immediately dumps out of the basket and back on to the floor. I refill snack containers, Trace pulls the boxes back out of the trash. He's the anti-helper. :) During all of this, Rory is quite happily playing letters, numbers, shapes and phonics games on my ipad. Learning time? Check!

10:00: Did I really spend an entire hour doing chores? Solid. Time to get dinner made for Dave tonight. I multitask here, making chicken enchiladas, watching Celebrity Apprentice, putting dishes away and making Minnie Mouse head centerpieces for Rory's upcoming birthday party. Snacks and juice cups are distributed. Diaper change happens, as well as 2 false alarm attempts to use the potty.

10:40: We've been having a really calm morning. One kid fight is all?? Until now. Rory gets really mad at Trace because he's holding an unopened bag of cheese for me (he needed a job...so there you go) and won't give it to her. She hits him in the back of the head with a My Little Pony. That equals a trip to her room to chill out so off she goes. She doesn't even throw a fit, she knows she's not allowed to smack her brother with toys. About 2 minutes later, I can't find Trace. He's not under my feet like normal so I go looking. He's in Rory's room with her, reading books on her bed. Calmly. Peacefully. With. His. Sister. I back away slowly, hoping this moment lasts.

11:00: They played for almost 15 minutes in Rory's room WITHOUT FIGHTING!! They were singing something, reading books and throwing stuffies at each other. Happily. I'm a happy mama. Time for lunch!

11:15: The kids chow down on grapes, hot dogs and cheese puffs for lunch while watching some Veggie Tales. We talk about David and Goliath a little bit and of course, Rory needs to pray for the Giant Pickle RIGHT NOW so we do.

11:30 Trace has a diaper blowout in back, a face/hair/shirt full of ketchup in the front. Sick. I hate the smell of ketchup. Diaper change, clothes changed, face and hair washed. Trace goes down for an early nap today.

11:50: Rory is tired and asks to go to nap now, instead of when Veggie Tales is over. Fine with me! A quick reading of Clifford's Halloween Costume, a couple verses of the Wheels on the Bus and a prayer for the Shadowman (from the Princess and the Frog) and she drifts off peacefully.

Noon: Dinner is made for Dave tonight. I throw together a quick quesedilla for my own lunch and scarf it down while watching Bethenney. I've got 2 hours if I'm lucky to work, shower, get dressed and ready for my real work tonight...sigh.

I mean OBSESSED. She is without a doubt in my top 3 favorite female literary character of all time. (Curious? Jo March and Posy Fossil round out the top 3. Hermione is up there too...okay this deserves a post of it own.) Katniss is strong, loyal, independent, curious, rebellious, intelligent. She's has many wonderful characteristics but Katnss is also tragically flawed, as all good heroes are. She's tortured. She takes on too much, she's confused. Suzanne Collins wrote Katniss so realistically, so truly human.

She is real.

I'm almost done with Mockingjay. I've plowed through these books in 4 days. I'm already ready to see the movie again. And again. I'm not sure how I'll wait until October 2013 for Catching Fire the movie. Jennifer Lawrence brings Katniss to the screen so perfectly.

And, FYI, I'm totally Team Peeta. Katniss has to be with Peeta. He understands her, he has been in the arena.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Lots of randoms for you today. My life is so scattered lately, so this is what you get. :)

I'm officially obsessed with The Hunger Games. Why I resisted so long, I have no idea. I killed that first book in 4 hours and book #2 is waiting on my iPad right now. Can't. Wait. We already bought our tickets for the movie on Saturday! Katniss is so B.A. I think I want to be her for Halloween. Also when I grow up.

Rory's precious Baby Charlotte (yes, that's her name. You must say both words!) was a causality in last weekend's throw up fest. Don't worry, a new baby has been ordered and will be given on her birthday. Poor Baby Charlotte. A permanently orange head that was once a nice shade of skin.

Trace is a total Daddy's boy lately. I go to wake him up in the morning and what does he say? DADA! DADA! And then he pouts. Or...he'll ask for the dog. This makes for a sad Mama! Then I get over it. ;)

BIG NEWS. I have officially lost 10 pounds. I feel like a new person already. Here's to the next 30!

Disney in 89 days! That seems so close, yet so far away. I'm so excited I can't stand it!

Monday, March 19, 2012

As most of you know, my sweet Uncle David passed away last Monday. He was an amazing. I always knew he was incredibly smart, kind and a gifted teacher but I have no idea the impact he had on his community and students! (We live 5 hours away.) He was a high school chemistry teacher for 40 years, very involved in his church and community theater and was a professor at several colleges, including Ithaca College. Over 1000 people showed up to his visitation/wake and several hundred for his actual funeral service. A tribute much deserved by my Uncle!

Between that sad situation and the ENTIRE FAMILY getting the flu (myself, Trace, Rory and Dave in that order)...it's been quite a week. I ended up in the ER again while we were out of town for the funeral for dehydration. Trace kept my mom up all night while I was in the ER sick and then proceeded to get sick on our 5 hour car ride home. Rory threw up in the middle of the night Sunday night, got scared and didn't call for me so I had no idea until this morning. Of COURSE Dave was out of town golfing so I got to deal with that all by myself. Thank goodness my parents rock and live 2 minutes away. Now Dave is home and bam. He's sick in bed. My dad got sent to a frack site out of town today with no return date. :(

It's kind of been a really sucky 10 days. Really sucky. In effort to not throw myself a giant pity party, I am going to list some things I am thankful for.

1. Zofran. It really should be available over the counter. This miracle drug is the only thing that stops me from throwing up once I start. My current gastrointestinal issues deserve their own post. I just want to get the flu and kick it like a normal person in a day or 2! UGH.

2. Gatorade/Pedialyte/Popsicles. Enough said.

3. Kids Place Live on SiriusXM and DVD players in cars. I'm not sure we would have survived that trip home from Binghamtom without these two little necessities.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

I'm a mess. My house is clean but I am a mess. The laundry is caught up, well as caught up as it ever can be, but I'm still a mess.

I sliced my hand wide open on a piece of glass yesterday. I was cleaning up the back deck, getting things out of spring. A piece of glass went right up in to my palm. It was, like something out of a movie, a blood geyser. Thankfully, my 11 year old cousin was over playing with R and T. Half a roll of paper towels later, a last minute doctors visit (did you know Tetanus shots are good for 10 years? They are!) and a lot of bruising later...I have one heck of a sore hand.

And also a strict warning about my blood pressure from my doctor.

I'm 27 years old and my blood pressure was high yesterday.

My doctor, a longtime family friend, said I need to learn to take breaks, take time for myself and relax. I need to cut some stress out. I need to rest more, work less.

Does this man know me? I'm not good at that. I'm a mess remember? I'm constantly running in 92 directions at once, with a to-do list a mile long. I have clinical depression, anxiety and problems sleeping. I'm overweight, I'm overworked and I'm a mom of 2 toddlers. I am a mess.

But.

I'm doing the best with the mess that I am. I'm eating healthier and exercising regularly. I'm taking my medicine on schedule and journaling. I'm growing in my Faith. I'm taking time each day to do conscious, purposeful mom-school with the kids. I'm chipping away at my to-do list. I'm trying. I'm still a mess and I probably always will be. And that just has to be okay.

Side note. My uncle passed away on Monday afternoon. He was a wonderful husband, father, uncle, teacher and humanitarian. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. He will be missed!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Without going in to much detail, I'd appreciate all the prayers you could send my extended family this week. My uncle had a massive stroke on Friday night and the outcome is not positive. Please, if you think of it, say a prayer for my sweet aunt and cousins. It's just an awful situation. He is a wonderful man and was very healthy. To say the family is shocked is an understatement.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

I feel like I have lot of blog friends but very few friends in real life. I mean I'm talking 2 friends that aren't related to me. When did this happen?

I tried going to MOPS to meet other moms but it wasn't a good fit for me. The moms were super nice and good ladies, but it just wasn't my scene. We tried daycare to meet other kids and their moms and that was a royal disaster. I try to organize things at my house (like for example a 31 party on Sunday that two people showed up to, after inviting over 30.) But nothing seems to pan out.

I'm stuck.

I understand that not many 27 year olds have been married for 5 years and have 2 kids already. I get that. But just because I have 2 kids and a husband doesn't mean I'm not still fun! I'm still Kate, I'm still me. I still like a glass of wine on the weekends, a good dinner, a romantic comedy, shopping. I still like the same things and the same people. I haven't moved on, but maybe everyone else has?

Dave and his same friends still do all sorts of things together. Golf, snowboard, movies, going out to see bands, all sorts of fun stuff. And where am I? Home with 2 kids.

That sounded a little bitter, and yeah maybe I am a little bitter. Actually, I'm flat out jealous. I'll be honest. I'm so envious of Dave every time he gets to leave to go do something fun. I never get to go. I'm either working, cooking, cleaning or being mom. On rare occasions, I do get to spend the afternoon with my life long best friend, Brittany. But she works 2 jobs (crazy girl!) and has a single, fun life.

I'm whining. I'm sorry. Actually, no I'm not. I'm kind of throwing myself a little pity party and that's okay every once and a while. I'm not sitting here complaining about ALL THE THINGS in my life that are driving me bonkers right now and I'm not being a spoiled brat. I'm just...lonely.

Friday, March 2, 2012

I found out yesterday that one of my students is being bullied. We will call him "John." John is a sweet, intelligent, kind, talented, creative, great kid. I'd love for Trace to grow up to be as friendly and really interesting as John is. What John isn't is a Jock. He's tried every sport under the sun and though he's okay at them and is an athletic kid, he just doesn't really enjoy them. No biggie, right?

Well apparently that's all the fodder high school kids need these days. Forget the fact that this kid is musically talented, SMART as a whip and a born leader. He's not bashing people's skulls on the football field or wrestling in a leotard. To high school boys, that makes him less than them. A target. Someone to be picked on and made fun of.

Can I just say something to high school boys?

Your life should not begin and end with high school sports. You may be the "big man" in school right now, but guess what. It won't always be the case. You aren't going to the NFL, NBA or MLB. You aren't. Statistics and logic tell us that kids from the forest are lucky to play at a tiny, state run university if anything at all. Your life right now may revolve around sports, your truck, hunting and girls. That's great. Enjoy your youth, but at least let other kids enjoy theirs too. If John wants to play the piano, paint a picture or take a tap dance class (and no, he's not a ballerina as you so eloquently refer to him) then he can. We don't bully you for getting drunk in a field on the weekends, so leave my John alone. After all, you are wrestling sweaty boys. He's lifting, touching, partnering and dancing with hot girls in leotards and tights every week. Who has the better end of the deal? Yeah, that's what I thought.

My problem with bullies is this. What is so wrong in their lives that they think it's okay to pick on another kid? Who said that was okay? Who set that example? I don't believe a kid is born mean or born a bully. I believe bullies are a direct result of a combination of any of the following things: bad home life, low self esteem, parental/familial example, verbal/physical abuse, constant desire to be better than others. I think they all relate right back to low self esteem though. I've found, in years of working with girls, that the girls who feel most confident in their own skin have no reason to make fun of others.

There has to be something done about this. Girl on girl crime is one thing, but it seems to me that boy on boy crime is much worse these days. Why should any kid be afraid to be their true, authentic self? It's mind boggling to me. Where does the blame lie? With the bullies, of course. But it goes beyond that. Don't teachers have a responsibility to encourage kids to discover their true identity? I know that I'm not a "real" teacher, but I feel bound to facilitate a classroom where my students feel welcome, honest and safe. It is my duty as an educator in any capacity to encourage self expression, healthy conversations and an environment where kids can create without fear of bullying. That is my job. Before I make good dancers, I need to take care of the child. That's the real education.

There's nothing wrong with not fitting the status quo. The status quo is average. Average is boring. Normal is boring. Extraordinary is exciting. Just because everyone else plays basketball, is a cheerleader or likes to drink beer at age 17 doesn't mean that it's right. Just because everyone else picks on a kid doesn't mean it's right. Stand up. Be the first one to say back off. You never know the difference you can make.